Chromebooks allow students to navigate online learning

by Shannon Barry, Milpitas Post

Posted:
10/03/2012 02:17:03 PM PDT

Updated:
10/03/2012 02:21:56 PM PDT

More than 1,000 students are in control of their learning environment and pacing this year, navigating Milpitas Unified School District's kindergarten- through 12th-grade educational system with the recent deployment of a modern teaching tool: Chromebooks.

"The technical reason why we went with Chromebooks is they're relatively inexpensive, about $500 per copy," Superintendent Cary Matsuoka said Friday. "...But they're also very simple."

The personal computers that run Google Chrome OS as its operating system boot up in five to 10 seconds and give students and faculty access to the educational apps and resources of the web with all-day battery life, built-in virus protection, and Wi-Fi and 3G connectivity options.

"If you think about your typical school, if you deployed 1,000 electronic devices, you have a user and IT headache on your hands," Rajen Sheth, Google's product manager for Chrome OS for business and education, said Monday. "...It really distracts from the classroom experience and is more negative than positive."

Chromebook analysis

International Data Corp. was hired to create a report for Google, which was looking to quantify the value of Chromebooks in educational settings.

"IDC has a methodology for seeing how tools get deployed and what kind of impact they have, everything from new PCs being installed in law firms and businesses to new software in businesses," Bob O'Donnell, vice president of clients and displays for IDC, said by phone Monday.

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"A lot of it has to do with asking people what are the tasks that they do, how long do those tasks typically take and was that time changed or shortened after that technology was deployed."

During this 10-week process, he said the company essentially measures time and dollars spent alongside activities.

The report highlights Chromebooks as requiring approximately 69 percent less labor to install and 92 percent less labor to support than traditional PCs, reducing the need to hire additional IT staff.

Sheth said this is simply because a Chromebook "really is just a web browser."

You simply sign in with your Google account so you aren't tied to one specific device, no software needs to be installed and updates can be managed or changed centrally.

"The problem with laptops is they can take time and then they're susceptible to viruses, they're more expensive and they have more software on it than we need," Matsuoka said. "...(You) can make one adjustment at sort of the district level and it sends that change out to all of the district Chromebooks."

Matsuoka said not only is this important to the school district but also the IDC highlight that the devices are ideal for a one-to-one device program since they include thousands of educational applications on the web.

"The really interesting thing that's happening is they're actually changing the model in which they teach," Sheth said. "...I think the biggest thing is that all of a sudden you have a lot more interactivity that you can have with the tools."

Transforming teaching

"They're driving the mouse. They're driving the program," Matsuoka said of the more than 1,100 devices that have been received across the district this year.

He added the "big allotments" are being used at Randall and Weller elementary schools for their 21st century blended learning pilot programs which launched this year in addition to Burnett Elementary, Rancho Middle School and the Digital Business Academy at Milpitas High School, which is replacing traditional textbooks by assigning each student their own Chromebook for the year that they are able to use in school and at home.

At the new pilot programs, for example, Randall and Weller have differentiated schedules and curriculum set-ups for their sites, but the focus of both is teacher-student and student-student collaboration, in addition to customized and data-driven targeted instruction achieved through rotation between the classroom and a learning laboratory where students log on to web-based educational programs like Khan Academy through their Chromebooks.

"What ends up happening is the students just overall (have) a better grasp," Sheth said.

Khan Academy, one among many now available, is a free online tutoring site with a library of more than 3,200 video tutorials, interactive challenges and assessments available to anyone with a Gmail address from any computer with access to the web. The self-paced learning tool allows students to start at one plus one, for example, and work into calculus or jump into whatever topic may need brushing up.

"They know nothing else but what's also rewarding is we have students from some families that don't have technology in the home, and the kids adapt to it," Matsuoka said. "It's addressing the technology gap in our district because not every family has access to a computer. Weller's one of our Title I schools."

He expects more teachers to jump on board in the months and years to come.

The recent distribution of Chromebooks within Milpitas Unified is just one aspect and tool that is being used in shifting from the traditional teaching method, being paid for by individual site funding and bond monies from the $95-million Measure E bond measure that passed in June.

"We're making decisions for the next 30 years so I hope we're doing it right," Matsuoka said.

Sheth said Milpitas Unified is among more than 500 districts in 41 states across the United States that are taking advantage of Chromebooks, and he only expects it will expand in the years to come.

"I think the thing I just reiterate is this is just the beginning for us," Sheth said. "It's great to see a district like Milpitas take that step and be a great visionary in terms of bringing technology to the classroom."

Contact Shannon Barry at sbarry@themilpitaspost.com or 408-262-2454. Visit us on our social media sites at facebook.com/milpitas post and twitter.com/milpitaspost.